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Bhagwat Dayal Sharma (26 January 1918 – 22 February 1993), popularly known as Panditji, was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
and later Governor of Odisha and
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
from 30 April 1980 to 14 May 1984. He is one of the greatest leaders of Haryana and his legacy is celebrated even today.


Personal life

He was born in Beri, a town in the
Jhajjar district Jhajjar district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. Carved out of Rohtak district on 15 July 1997 and with its headquarters in Jhajjar, it lies from Delhi and had developed into an important industrial center. Othe ...
of Haryana on 26January 1918.
Bansi Lal Bansi Lal Legha (26 August 1927 – 28 March 2006) was an Indian independence activist, senior Congress leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana, former Defence Minister of India, and the architect of modern Haryana. Bansi Lal was part of the ...
, Bhajan Lal and many other noted politicians learned politics under his guidance. He married Savitri Devi and they had six children; three sons and three daughters. He was educated at Banaras Hindu University, Banaras. His eldest son Sh. Rajesh Sharma became Sports Minister of Haryana and Deputy Chairman of the State's Planning Board. After his wife Savitri's death, Panditji built "Savitri Nikunj", in her memory, an exotic garden with indigenous and rare plants and trees at Raj Bhawan in
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
.


Independence movement and political career

* Participated in the freedom struggle from 1941 to 1947 * Sentenced to jail for 1 year in 1941 * Sentenced to jail for 3.5 years in 1942 * Member of Indian labourers delegation to ILO (Geneva) in 1957 and 1958 * All-India Trade Union Congress (Punjab HP, J & K) Secretary and President in 1959-61 * Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly and Minister of State for Labour and Cooperatives from 1962 to 1966 Sharma became Chief Minister of Haryana on 1November 1966 then resigned to be replaced by Rao Birender Singh on 24March 1967. *
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
member from 1968 to 1974 * All India congress Working Committee member from 1970 to 1972 Appointed Governor of
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
in 1977, during his time in the state, he became patron of many social and cultural institutions. To develop tourism in Odisha, he suggested that the summer
Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; o ...
at
Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...
should be converted to a high class hotel for international tourists with facilities for golf, swimming and tennis as well as a large hall for holding conferences. The Indian Tourist Development Corporation (ITDC) was subsequently asked to take up the venture. Sharma was also actively involved in the administrative committee of the Hindu
Jagannath temple The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt f ...
in Puri. He decided to side with the syndicate after the expulsion of Indira Gandhi from the Congress. He subsequently transferred to
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
since the Odisha climate did not suit his health. During his career, Panditji travelled to Switzerland, the UK, the USSR, Germany, USA, and a number of other European countries.


Death

He died on 22 February 1993 because of gradual declining health and old age. Huge numbers of people from all over world attended his funeral. His
cremation Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
took place at Beri (the village, he was born at),
Jhajjar Jhajjar is a town in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The city is situated on the road connecting Rewari to Rohtak (NH-352), Loharu to Meerut (NH334B), Charkhi Dadri to Delhi and Gurgaon to Bhiwani. Jhajjar is located west o ...
, Haryana. A tomb place has been built at the site of his cremation in Beri.


Honors

Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences is a state university located at Rohtak, Haryana, India. It was established in 2008 by ''Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences Rohtak Act, 2008'' of the Government of ...
,
Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the National ...
named after him incorporates
Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences or PGIMS Rohtak is a government medical institution in the city of Rohtak, Haryana, India. The institute offers various under graduate and post graduate courses in major sp ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Shri Bhagvat Dayal 1918 births 1992 deaths People from Sonipat Chief Ministers of Haryana Governors of Odisha Governors of Madhya Pradesh Place of birth missing People from Jhajjar district Punjab, India MLAs 1962–1967 Haryana MLAs 1966–1967 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians